ITV has announced the commission of a new five-part drama serial from the makers of Poldark and Victoria.

Desire is written by acclaimed screenwriter Casualty co-creator Jeremy Brock, who also wrote Mrs Brown and The Last King of Scotland.

The official synopsis reads: “The story focuses on Leia, who is just about managing to hold her life together in the face of a messy divorce when she finds herself falling in love with an intensity she’s never experienced before. It’s the wrong man at the wrong time but Leia can’t give the relationship up. Desire looks at what happens when a passion is so powerful it starts to jeopardise your job, your home, and even your kids…”

ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill commented: “I am so thrilled to be working with Jeremy. Desire is such a beautiful and compelling story, dealing with the intense passion of a new relationship, the tricky and messy business of divorce and the ultimate love for your children. I am proud to be making this with Mammoth Screen for ITV.”

Writer Jeremy Brock added: “For a long time, I’ve wanted to write about what it feels like to be a parent, to try and balance the unconditionality of parental love with the shock of adult passion. Our values are bound up with our identity… children, family, work, love, our ideologies. I wanted to write about what happens when all these lights, by which we steer, are suddenly torn away and we are offered the stark choice: adapt or risk losing everything. It’s a huge privilege to be given the opportunity to write this big, passionate, messy slice of contemporary life, and I look forward to working with Polly Hill at ITV and with Mammoth Screen.”

Desire will begin filming in Sheffield this summer.

Are you looking forward to Desire? Let us know below…